Tag Archives: Michael Bloomberg

Liberal State Sen. Morgan Carroll now officially has thrown her hat into the ring for the chance to run against the unstoppable U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman in the Sixth Congressional District. Since she didn’t give us the exclusive (we’re hurt, truly), we thought it would be fun to revisit some of our favorite moments with Carroll over the past few years. Without further ado, here goes.

Remember when Senate President Carroll lost the majority in 2014 and had to rescind her tiara to Sen. Senate President Cadman? The best part is that she canceled all of her events for the month following. Aw, looks like someone had a case of the pouts.

Most Coloradans want a mature and strong leader. That’s why Sen. Carroll’s immature and snarky email ripping on various pieces of legislation in 2015 was so puzzling. It was more the Peak style than Presidential, and just plain embarrassing for her caucus.

Everyone remembers the 2013 gun grab that she helped orchestrate, but one of the lesser-known elements of the gun grab was that Carroll and her Democratic friends actually cribbed language from New York for the legislation. You know, because Colorado has so much in common with New York.

After supporting tax hike after tax hike, Carroll was named to the new dirty dozen – 12 legislators who allowed the Dirty Dozen Taxes to pass, crippling the middle class. As a self-proclaimed champion of the middle class, it was gratifying to expose her hypocrisy.

We wish Sen. Carroll the best of luck in her attempt to unseat Rep. Mike Coffman. She’ll need it.

Earlier this week, Colorado’s Public Employee Retirement Association, better known as PERA, released its 2014 numbers and the news is not great.

First, the return on investment was just 5.7%, which is considerably less than the 7.5% projected. Of course, the S&P 500 saw 13.7% growth in 2014, so the state would have fared better just dumping it’s billion-dollar liability into a generic S&P 500 fund.

The PERA press release then goes on to say that the three-year and five-year annualized rate of return were 11.3% and 9.9%, respectively. But, again, the S&P 500 annualized return for those same periods were 19.7% and 16.5%. Now, a real financial genius would tell you that the S&P 500 comparison doesn’t matter. But, it is illustrative of the challenges that PERA is facing. And, regardless of how well or not well PERA does against the S&P 500, the fact remains that PERA is giant cancer on the state’s balance sheet.

We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so. In November 2012, PERA caused great concern when it implemented an 8% expected rate of return. Here’s what we said then:

“Currently, PERA has a $26 billion gap between the expected rate of return and the actual rate of return – a number that grows each year the portfolio misses the 8% mark PERA averages the return over a 30-year period. Oddly, even PERA’s own financial advisor, Hewitt Ennis Knupp has recommended the lower 7.6% rate of return, which PERA has ignored.

Even New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently stated that an 8 percent return was “absolutely hysterical” and even a 7 percent return is “indefensible,” during similar discussions about the New York City pension plan.”

Even Bloomberg is with us on this one. State Treasurer Walker Stapleton has been about the lone voice of reason on the PERA situation. It’s time to have a serious discussion about the state of PERA’s health.

It looks like State Sen. Mike Merrifield has been drinking former boss and Nanny State Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Big GulpsKool-Aid VitaminWater on guns. Earlier this week, in a hearing on SB159, which would have added to the bureaucratic bloat at the broke down CBI, Merrifield echoed his former employer Mayors Against Illegal Guns’ talking points on guns. MAIG is Bloomberg’s original gun control org for those of you not keeping up at home.

Revealing Politics caught him on tape, and provided some pretty convincing evidence that he’s just wrong. Here’s his damning statement:

“I don’t necessarily agree with those that think concealed carry weapons make them safer, there are certainly those people who do believe that.”

Wow. Maybe it’s the rarefied air or maybe it’s a feeling of being among friends that compels so many liberal politicians to step in $h!t up in Aspen, but we couldn’t make up this quote from former Mayor of Nanny State New York Michael Bloomberg if we tried.

“Bloomberg claimed that 95 percent of murders fall into a specific category: male, minority and between the ages of 15 and 25. Cities need to get guns out of this group’s hands and keep them alive, he said.”

Again wow. Bloomberg isn’t exactly known for his tactful musings, but then again maybe that’s what a net worth in excess of $37 billion buys you – a sincere lack of giving a crap. The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association called on Mayor Bloomberg to apologize for his racist remarks. From NYSRPA executive director Tom King, according to Ammoland:

“If a politician said this about anything other than guns, the mainstream media would be all over them. Michael Bloomberg isn’t just any politician, he is the leading voice for gun control in America. He should be held accountable for this slander.”

Bloomberg also is not known for accuracy in his proclamations (see: Colorado Springs roads), and this time is no different. Perhaps Bloomberg, a huge backer of the extreme gun legislation from 2013, fails to realize that many of the cities with a high number of minority male deaths also happen to have some of the most restrictive gun laws on the books. Even The New York Times gets it. Mayor, read your hometown newspaper.

In 2012, now-Rep. Mike McLachlan ran in a fairly conservative district touting his support of Second Amendment rights. During the highly partisan 2013 legislative session, McLachlan not only supported his party in its slash-and-burn gun grab, but he introduced the amendment that limited the amount of rounds per magazine to 15. So, what happened when McLachlan’s opponent J. Paul Brown asked at a Club 20 Debate if McLachlan was sorry that he supported those unpopular, rancorous gun laws? He gave his constituents a big middle finger:

Responding to Brown, McLachlan says he will not apologize for passing the gun bills. #Club20#copolitics

Our question is – will he apologize for lying to his constituents? Here’s his position on gun issues from his 2012 campaign website: Ooops. He supports the rights of all gun owners, except all the constituents/gun owners who have magazines with more than 15 rounds. Oh. And, all those who have basic hunting shotguns, which his amendment banned. We wonder how many of McLachlan’s constituents have basic hunting shotguns. Even now, his page on gun issues claims that he supports the Second Amendment.

Let’s call a spade a spade. McLachlan cannot simultaneously claim to support Second Amendment rights and pass some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country.

If McLachlan was genuinely anti-gun and not operating from an overabundance of political expediency, perhaps his constituents could look beyond his disastrous vote. But, first, he lied to his constituents in order to get elected and, then, when his constituents wanted to chat with him, he hid. Finally, when push came to shove, he chose former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg instead of the people of Durango, Colorado.

Maybe it’s time the good people of Durango, Colorado chose someone else over Rep. McLachlan when they vote this year. After all, one good turn deserves another, right PeakNation™?

A new report by the Colorado Innovation Network pinpointed what average Coloradans have sensed for some time – investment is just not flowing into Colorado. The Denver Business Journal highlighted this negative trend:

“The state comes out on top for startup and job creation, but venture capital investment in the state has been declining steady since 2012, causing the state to lag behind its peers. Nationally, VC has been growing.

‘Colorado companies are doing well at obtaining federal grants, yet they need to improve their ability to attract interest from the venture capital community,’ the report notes….

‘The future economic growth of Colorado will depend on the state’s ability to promote innovation in an environment conducive to its development and adoption,’ said Mitra Best, U.S. innovation leader at PwC and COIN member.”

Best’s quote is telling. As necessity is the mother of invention, Coloradans are a scrappy group, often doing whatever it takes to make ends meet in the economic downturn. So, it’s not surprising to hear that Coloradans are finding new and innovative ways to earn a living. The report, which compared Colorado to nine competitor states, basically said that we have all the ingredients for a robust and innovative economy, but yet, our business environment is holding us back.

Part of the VC problem may simply be our regulatory regime and lack of leadership. Investors have watched Democrats attempt to chase out at least three entire industries for no reason except that the industries offend liberals’ delicate sensibilities. First, Democrats in the state legislature, emboldened by support from former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and milquetoast leadership from Governor John Hickenlooper, passed some of the most extreme anti-gun laws in the country. These actions caused several manufacturers in the industry to pack up and leave Colorado.

Then, there’s mining, which the Environmental Protection Agency has made public enemy number one. Colorado leads production in this arena. Where was Hickenlooper in defending this important industry?

Most recently, Jared Polis has embarked on a tireless crusade to kill one of the bright spots in our economy, the oil and gas industry, almost for mere sport – simply because Polis didn’t appreciate that his neighbor fracked his own land. Polis claimed that the industry needed additional regulation when Colorado is one of the most tightly-regulated states in the nation. Polis’ threatened regulations could have shut down 60% of the energy production in the state.

And, of course, there are the 25,000 or so pages of regulation added in Hickenlooper’s administration alone.

The question isn’t why aren’t venture capitalists investing in Colorado, but why would a venture capitalist invest in such a turbulent environment?

The National Rifle Association started a $500,000 TV ad campaign aimed at making sure everyone in Colorado knows the ridiculous comments former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made about us. As if Coloradans needed more reason to despise Bloomberg and his nanny-state politics.

This is a problem for Gov. John Hickenlooper, since his close relationship with Bloomberg is well known. From listening to Bloomberg (but not having any time for Colorado Sheriffs) when it came to the gun legislation Hickenlooper signed into law, to writing love letters to Bloomberg, we’re sure Hickenlooper has a shrine set up to his patron saint of know-better-than-thou somewhere in the Governor’s mansion.

Which makes the NRA ad even more devastating is the fact that Hickenlooper takes advice from Bloomberg when Bloomberg clearly has little to no clue about Colorado itself. Bloomberg’s infamous comments highlighted in the ad where he claims former Sen. Majority Leader John Morse was recalled in an area of the state that is the ruralist of the rural—to the point where they have no roads—ignores the fact that El Paso county is actually the most populous county in the entire state. How anyone from Colorado could love a man so out of touch with our state to write him a fawning letter, shows just how out of touch Hickenlooper is with anything Colorado not five blocks from Wynkoop.

In case it was unclear that Gov. John Hickenlooper and Colorado’s de facto Governor, Michael Bloomberg, were close, let this audio from a media interview between a Bloomberg reporter and Hick erase all doubt. Complete Colorado‘s Todd Shepherd cleverly CORA’d all of Hick’s media interviews that former spokesperson Eric Brown not-so-cleverly recorded. Ouch. Listen here:

From Complete Colorado:

“Actually, watching what Michael Bloomberg did for New York, as Mayor, it made me love Bloomberg News in a way nothing else really could. When DeBlasio took over, and basically (unintelligible) people trashed Mayor Bloomberg, I got a whole, long…fawning letter up to Bloomberg just saying how outrageous it was. And then just reciting what I thought he’d be remembered for, and every big city mayor that I know, thinks that he’ll go down as one of the greatest mayors, not just in New York, but in the history of the United States.”

Aside from the fact that Hick claims that Bloomberg is not pulling the strings in Colorado when it’s clear that he is, his fawning to a Bloomberg reporter is just awkward, as you can hear on the audio when the reporter responds to his fawning with repeated and noncommital “uh-huhs”. Mike Bloomberg has almost nothing to do with the everyday operations of Bloomberg News. It would be like a Patriots fan talking about how much they love Gillette razors, the sponsor of the Pats’ stadium.

What’s interesting is that Hick seems to view Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, as a model governor. Let’s take a stroll through some of Bloomberg’s nanny state legacy, taken from Gizmodo, which has the complete list:

No smoking in restaurants, bars, and public places (that includes e-cigarettes)

No cigarette sales to those under the age of 21

No cars in Times Square or in bike lanes (because Manhattan has so much available real estate)

Restrictions on levels of sodium in processed foods

No trans-fats in restaurant cooking

No Big Gulps

No styrofoam packaging in single-service food items

No loud headphones

Latch on NYC: Formula is locked up and tracked for new mothers to encourage breastfeeding

If Hickenlooper views Bloomberg as one of the best mayors ever, what can we expect next from the embattled Governor? As if the gun grab wasn’t bad enough, is Hick looking for a new nanny state legacy for himself?

Yesterday, Coloradans learned from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that its second and seventh-largest cities, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, respectively, didn’t have roads. Reporter Todd Shepherd launched an investigation into this surprising allegation. His report is below.

In a ridiculous interview published by Rolling Stone yesterday, Colorado’s Surrogate Governor (h/t Team Beauprez) Michael Bloomberg basically called Colorado Springs and Pueblo bassackwards because the cities recalled far left Senators responsible for passing his disastrous gun legislation. Here’s what he said that was mysteriously yanked down yesterday:

“In Colorado, we got a law passed. The NRA went after two or three state senators in a part of Colorado where I don’t think there’s roads. It’s as far rural as you can get. And, yes, they lost recall elections. I’m sorry for that. We tried to help ’em. But the bottom line is, the law is on the books, and being enforced. You can get depressed about the progress, but on the other hand, you’re saving a lot of lives.”

Has Bloomberg ever been to either Colorado Springs or Pueblo? While neither are anywhere near the size of New York City, neither town is exactly…rural. Colorado Springs is actually the second largest city in Colorado. Further, according to Colorado Springs’ city government, “the City’s Streets Division is responsible for servicing over 7,431 lane miles of roadway, extending over a 194 square mile area.” And what about Pueblo? According to its city government, it has 1,200 miles of roads, thankyouverymuch.

But, this isn’t about technicalities. This is about a mindset. Michael Bloomberg, with his nannystate ways, thinks he knows better than Coloradans, and this statement proves that he has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to Colorado. Even worse is his condescension of the will of the voters in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The recalled Senators represented the worst in our legislative system – members who placed the priorities of special interests before the will of the very people they were meant to represent.

But what’s truly terrible is that Governor Hickenlooper has absconded his responsibilities as Governor to a man who is so dismissive of Coloradans.